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Angola looks to local markets after debt costs consume nearly half of the 2026 budget
Angola will spend nearly half of its budget for 2026 on debt repayments, highlighting how the rising costs of servicing are forcing governments in Africa to depend more on their domestic markets to fund themselves. The draft budget of the finance ministry, released on Friday, showed that 32.9%, or 10.9 trillion Kwanzas ($11.95 Billion), would be used to repay loans, and 13%, which is 4.3 trillion Kwanzas (4.3 trillion dollars) for interest payments. The total debt service will consume about 45.9%. Angola expects to borrow 7.1 trillion kwanzas in 2026 from domestic sources, compared to just 1.7 trillion from external creditors. This reflects a trend of frontier markets relying on domestic funding as foreign currency access is more expensive and risky. The budget deficit in Luanda is estimated to be 2.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP), down from 3.3% in 2025. The second-largest crude oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is trying to control costs because of volatile oil prices by cutting total expenditures, has announced that it will cut its total spending by 4,7%, to 33 trillion kwanzas. The draft budget is based on a crude price of $61 a barrel. Brent crude futures traded at around $65 last Friday. The economic growth rate is projected to increase to 4,2% by 2026 from just 3% in the year 2025. The government has also expressed concern over the rapid increase in tax waivers and incentives, referred to as "fiscal exemptions", which grew from 184 billion Kwanzas (Kwanzas) in 2018 up to 3 trillion Kwanzas by 2024. The government is concerned about the impact of these exemptions, which are mainly granted to non-oil sector, on Angola's revenue and fiscal stability.
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Amazon's boost to stocks leads to a rise in the dollar and stocks.
The dollar rose after some Federal Reserve officials made hawkish remarks. Global stocks are on track for their third consecutive week of gains, and seventh consecutive month. This was boosted by the strong gains seen in Amazon's megacap after its quarterly results. Amazon surged by 9.6% following the announcement that cloud revenue grew at the fastest rate in almost three years. This allowed the company to forecast sales for the quarter above expectations. Apple shares fell 0.4%, to $271.37. They pared gains made after hitting an intraday high of $277.32, after reporting quarterly earnings. Apple also forecast holiday-quarter iPhone and overall revenue, which exceeded Wall Street expectations, thanks to strong demand from its iPhone 17 models. The results are the culmination of a week of earnings from megacap companies that were part of the Magnificent 7 group of stocks. They showed the huge infrastructure being built around artificial intelligence is not slowing down. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise by 0.09% to 47,562.87. The S&P 500 rose 17.86 points or 0.26% to 6,840.20, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 143.81 or 0.61% to 23,724.96. The stock market closed off its previous highs as several Fed officials echoed the comments made by Chair Jerome Powell in earlier this week. Powell had denied expectations that the central bank will cut rates during its December meeting after a 25 basis-point cut on Wednesday. The theme is similar to yesterday's. The earnings are a bit better than expected, but the Fed's hawkish comments have tempered them. James Ragan is Co-CIO at D.A. Davidson. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic has said that a rate cut in December is not a certainty, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Beth Hammack stated she was open-minded to changing the interest rate targets used by the Fed for implementing monetary policy. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the markets are pricing in a probability of 65% for a rate cut by 25 basis points at the December meeting. This is down from 92% just a week earlier. The Nasdaq is on course for its seventh consecutive monthly gain, the longest streak since Jan 2018. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 0.81 points, or 0.08% to 1,005.99. This is the longest streak since August 2021. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down by 0.51% following a mixed quarter of earnings and a benign inflation report for the euro zone that confirmed the European Central Bank’s belief that price pressures are contained. However, it notched up its fourth consecutive month of gains. In terms of currencies, previous comments by Fed officials supported the greenback. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid dissented from cutting interest rates in this week, citing concerns that high inflation would continue and signs of inflation spreading throughout the economy. Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Log said that the Fed shouldn't have cut rates this week, and they shouldn't do it again in December. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket currencies) rose by 0.31%, to 99.78. Meanwhile, the euro fell 0.31%, to $1.1529. The dollar index is on track for a second consecutive weekly gain, and a month-to-month increase of around 2%. The Japanese yen rose 0.02% against the dollar to 154.10. Satsuki Katayama, the Japanese Finance Minister, said that the government was monitoring the foreign exchange market with an urgent sense of urgency since the yen dropped to around 154 dollars. The data revealed that core inflation in Japan’s capital city accelerated in October, and remained above the central banks 2% target. This kept market expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike intact. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged this week despite predictions of a rate hike by many economists. The yield of benchmark U.S. 10 year notes increased by 0.2 basis points, to 4,095%, while the yield of the 2-year note, which moves typically in line with Fed rate expectations, fell 1.6 basis to 3,598%. The 10-year rate was up almost 10 basis points in the past week. This was its largest increase since the week ending April 11, while the 2-year rate was up over 11 basis points, the biggest gain since the first weeks of July. U.S. crude oil settled up by 0.68% at $60.98 per barrel. Brent crude ended the day up 0.11% to $65.07 a barrel.
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Amazon stocks rise, dollar gains after Fed remarks
The dollar rose after some Federal Reserve officials made hawkish remarks. Global stocks are on track for their third consecutive week of gains, and seventh consecutive month. Earnings from Apple and Amazon megacaps eased concerns about high valuations. Amazon soared by about 11% following the announcement that cloud revenue grew at the fastest rate in almost three years. This allowed the company to forecast quarter sales above expectations. Apple shares climbed to $271.76 after paring gains from an intraday high of $277.32. The company reported quarterly earnings, forecast holiday-quarter iPhone and overall revenue which exceeded Wall Street expectations due to strong demand for iPhone 17 models. The results are the culmination of a week of earnings from several megacap firms, including the Magnificent Seven Group of Stocks, which made it clear that the massive infrastructure around artificial intelligence is not slowing down. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 24.36, or 0.5%, to 47.548.73. The S&P 500 rose 20.36, or 0.3%, to 6,842.70, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 163.40, or 1.6%, to 23,744.50. The stock market was well below its previous highs as several Fed officials echoed the comments made by Chair Jerome Powell in earlier this week. Powell had denied expectations that the central bank will cut rates during its December meeting after a 25 basis-point cut on Wednesday. The market will have to repricing because it also priced in another two rate cuts, said Ken Polcari of Slatestone Wealth, Jupiter, Florida. The market will have to adjust because you may not get the product. This is only going to put pressure on price. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic has said that a rate cut in December is not a certainty, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Beth Hammack is open to changing the interest rate targets used by the Fed for implementing monetary policy. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the markets are pricing in only a 63% probability of a 25 basis-point cut at the December meeting. This is down from 92% just a week earlier. The Nasdaq is on course for its seventh consecutive monthly gain, the longest streak since Jan 2018. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 0.77 points, or 0.08% to 1,005.95. This is the longest streak since August 2021. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down by 0.51% following a mixed quarter of earnings and a benign inflation report for the euro zone that confirmed that price pressures are contained. However, it notched up its fourth consecutive month of gains. Earlier comments by Fed officials in support of the dollar were also made. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid dissented from cutting interest rates in this week, citing concerns that high inflation would continue and that signs of inflation spreading throughout the economy might raise doubts as to the central bank's commitment towards its 2% target. Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Log said that the Fed shouldn't have cut rates this week, and they shouldn't do it again in December. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket currencies) rose by 0.34%, to 99.82. Meanwhile, the euro fell by 0.36%, to $1.1523. The dollar index is on track for a second consecutive weekly gain, and a month-to-month increase of around 2%. The Japanese yen rose 0.03% against the dollar to 154.08. Satsuki Katayama, the Japanese Finance Minister, said that the government was monitoring the foreign exchange market with an urgent sense of urgency since the yen dropped to around 154 dollars. The data revealed that core inflation in Japan’s capital city accelerated in October, and remained above the central banks 2% target. This kept market expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike intact. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged this week despite predictions of a rate hike by many economists. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes fell by 0.2 basis points to 4.091%, while the yield on the 2-year note, which is typically in line with the rate expectations of the Fed, dropped by 1.2 basis to 3.602%. U.S. crude climbed 0.53% to 60.89 per barrel. Brent was up to $65.04 a barrel, a 0.06% increase on the day.
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Energy Minister: Canada will accelerate vital mineral projects worth $4.6 Billion, Canada will accelerate critical mineral project
Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced on Friday that Canada would accelerate mining projects totaling C$6.4 billion ($4.6billion) as part the Critical Minerals Production Alliance. The announcement was made at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of energy ministers and environmental ministers of the Group of Seven in Toronto. Hodgson stated that Canada, along with its G7 partners, will mobilize both public and private capital in order to accelerate the production of graphite and rare earth elements. Canada has announced that as part of its alliance with Australia's Rio Tinto and Quebec-based Nouveau Monde Graphite, it signed an offtake contract for graphite and scandium. Offtake agreements are deals where a buyer commits to purchasing a producer's future output at a set price. Hodgson stated in an interview earlier this week that Canada aimed to become a leader when it came to securing supply chain for its key allies to reduce dependence on China. Canada is a producer of several important metals, including nickel, cobalt, and copper. Except for Japan, all G7 countries are heavily or solely reliant on China to supply a wide range of materials, from rare earth magnets and battery metals.
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As tensions in Venezuela rise, US Senators are seeking answers about the 'anti-drug strategy'
The Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee stated on Friday that they have asked the administration of President Donald Trump for information and legal reasoning about operations against drug cartels, but still have not received it. Since early September, U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. This has heightened tensions between Washington DC and Caracas. In a rare instance of bipartisanship in relation to the strikes Republican Senator Roger Wicker, and Democrat Jack Reed stated that they did not receive information from the administration regarding its strategy to combat drug cartels. Reed of Rhode Island is the top Democrat in the committee that oversees the U.S. Military. Wicker of Mississippi is its chairman. Trump's administration has insisted that the vessels targeted were carrying drugs without providing any evidence, or explaining publicly the legal basis for their decision to attack them rather than arrest the people on board. Trump has also ordered a major buildup of military forces in the Caribbean. In a letter from September 23, Wicker and Reed stated that they had requested "Execute Orders", relating to anti-drug trafficking activities. In a letter dated October 6, they requested any written opinion on the legal basis of these operations. The legislators said that they did not receive the requested information before Friday. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations. (Reporting and editing by Daniel Wallis; Patricia Zengerle)
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Sources: World Bank arbitral body rejects Barrick Expedition request in Mali case
Two people with knowledge of the situation said on Friday that Barrick Mining's request to expedite their international arbitration case against Mali was rejected. Since 2023, the West African government has been involved in difficult negotiations with Barrick over the implementation of new mining codes that increase taxes and give the government a larger share of the gold mines. Barrick initiated arbitration proceedings against the World Bank arbitration court (ICSID) in December 2024. The company wanted ICSID urgently to address several issues, including the continued detention of four staff members, the appointment a provisional administrator for the Loulo Gounkoto Complex after Barrick suspended operations due to the dispute, as well as the expiration in 2026 of the Loulo Mine's license. Two sources confirmed that the request was denied this week. ICSID announced on its website on Wednesday that it issued an order regarding "provisional Measures" without providing any further details. Barrick refused to comment. ICSID, as well as the Malian Mines Ministry, did not respond when asked for comments. Reporting by Portia Crowe and Divyarajagopal, Editing by Alexander Smith
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Gold drops 1% due to uncertainty over rate cuts, but is set for a third monthly increase
Gold prices fell 1% on the Friday due to uncertainty about another interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year. However, gold is still poised to gain for a third consecutive month. At 1:49 pm, spot gold dropped 0.6% to $4.001.74 an ounce. ET (1749 GMT), and was on course for a 3.7% increase this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery settled 0.5% lower, at $3.996.5 per ounce. Dollar index was near its three-month-high, making bullion priced in greenbacks more expensive for holders of other currencies. Beth Hammack, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said that she was against the central bank lowering interest rates this coming week. She added that the Fed must maintain some restrictions to reduce inflation. Hammack is crushing gold, as she is the third Fed regional president to publicly oppose rate cuts given high inflation. Hammack is a FOMC member in 2026, and this shows that the market overestimated lower rates. Tai Wong said. CME FedWatch showed that while the Fed reduced interest rates on December 3, hawkish comments from Chairman Jerome Powell have led to markets pricing in a 63% probability of a rate cut for the month. This is down from 90% earlier in this week. When interest rates rise, gold loses its appeal as it is not a yielding asset. This metal is up 53% in the past year and reached a new record high on October 20, reaching $4,381.21. Morgan Stanley stated on Friday that it still sees gold as a positive investment due to interest rate reductions, ETF flows, central bank purchases, and the ongoing uncertainty in the economy. The bank predicts that gold will average $4,300 during the first half 2026. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he would reduce tariffs against China from 57% to 47% in exchange for Beijing crackingdown on illegal fentanyl trafficking. He also promised to resume U.S. purchases of soybeans and keep rare earths exports flowing. Silver fell by 0.4%, to $48.73 an ounce. Platinum fell 1.7%, to $1.583.41, while palladium dropped 0.4%, to $1.440.02. (Reporting and editing by Deepababington, Vijay Kishore, and Alexander Smith in Bengaluru. Reporting by Noel John, Pablo Sinha, and Alexander Smith, Bengaluru)
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Dominance in contract negotiations for 47 gigawatts new data centers is up 17% year-on-year
Dominion Energy is the U.S. utility that powers "data center alley", in Northern Virginia. It said Tuesday that it was at some stage in contracting for data centers to have 47 gigawatts, which is more than Virginia needs. As artificial intelligence and cloud computing have grown, so has the number of data centers that consume a lot of power. This is driving up U.S. electricity demand to new records. Dominion, the largest electric utility in the world that serves data centers, has connected about 450 of them in Virginia's data center crossroads. Data center pipeline has grown by 17% in the last year. Dominion's CEO Robert Blue told investors on a conference call that "we continue to see robust data center demand." He was referring to earlier speculation about the Virginia data centre market being oversaturated. Dominion is investing $50 billion in its capital investment plan for 2025-2029 to expand its power infrastructure. Blue, who was on the call to discuss the company's third-quarter results, said: "We are developing resources across transmission, distribution and generation in order to meet this critical requirement on a timely manner." Dominion exceeded its quarterly profit expectations, thanks to increased demand for power in its Virginian and South Carolina segments. The adjusted operating earnings of Dominion's Virginia division rose by 2.5% in the third quarter to $679 millions, while those from South Carolina rose by over 14% to $109 million. Revenue for the quarter was $4.53 Billion, up from $3.94 Billion a year earlier. The company's interest costs rose by over 30%, to $527 millions in the third quarter. Dominion has narrowed the range for its operating earnings forecasts to $3.33 to $3.48 a share. This is down from the previous range of $3.28 to $3.52 a share. The company expects to achieve results at or above this midpoint if the weather conditions remain normal throughout the remainder of the year. According to LSEG, the utility's adjusted operating earnings for the three-month period ended September 30 were $1.06 per common share. This compares with an average analyst estimate of 95c per share. Sumit Saha reported from Bengaluru, Sahal Muhammed edited the story and David Gregorio provided translations.
MORNING quote AMERICAS-As Nvidia awaited, Treasuries soak up new deluge
A take a look at the day ahead in U.S. and international markets from Mike Dolan
Nvidia's post-bell incomes update on Wednesday is keeping stock exchange everywhere in a holding pattern, while U.S. Treasury markets seem soaking up the latest torrent of financial obligation sales quite easily.
The wait on the world's most dominant synthetic intelligence chipmaker's revenues has drawn all the oxygen out of the early part of the week, so big now is the impact of the $3.1 trillion-valued company on broader stock indexes.
Equity choices traders are expecting Nvidia's. report to trigger a more than $300 billion swing in its shares. over the day ahead. Prices expects a stock move of practically. 10% on Thursday - larger than the expected move ahead of any. Nvidia report over the last three years.
The stock gained more than 1% on Tuesday and was partially. greater in out of hours trading early on Wednesday. S&P 500 and. Nasdaq futures held stable.
The stakes are greater than ever, given the recent creeping. doubts about AI overspend and the absence of final product up until now for. the brand-new tech. Apple's scheduled announcement on Sept. 9 of a new. iPhone with brand-new AI functionality, nevertheless, might reduce some of. those issues.
And it's a big revenues day more broadly for Huge Tech - with. Salesforce also reporting and CrowdStrike upgrading following a. July flub that triggered a worldwide computer outage.
But while the S&P 500 has actually stopped short of brand-new record. highs awaiting the Nvidia results, the market remains resilient. with the Federal Reserve now finally set to cut rates of interest. in 3 weeks' time.
Nowhere has actually that been clearer than in the ease with which. Treasury sold another $69 billion of two-year notes. on Tuesday. Need was more powerful than forecast and, at 3.86%. early on Wednesday, 2-year yields are eyeing 15-month lows.
Another $70 billion of 5-year paper strikes the street later on. today, with the overall of costs and vouchers up for grabs this. week alone going beyond half a trillion dollars.
Treasury is frontloading the new financial obligation simply put maturities. and almost three quarters of that big total today remains in. expenses with tenors of less than 12 months - a move that will see. some benefit to debt servicing expenses as Fed rates topple.
But the excellent reception for the new two-year notes and with. one eye on how all those bills ultimately get refinanced over. the years ahead, the inverted yield curve in between two and 10. years narrowed to simply 3 basis points - its smallest in 3. weeks.
The most recent U.S. financial releases supply little bar to. those souped-up alleviating expectations - now running at as much as. 104 basis points over the remainder of the year.
Although consumer self-confidence rose to a six-month high in. August, Americans are ending up being more anxious about the labor. market - the cooling of which is now front and center of the. Fed's focus.
And despite numerous supply stress and anxieties from the Middle East. to Libya, oil rates were on the subside once again on Wednesday. - and still clocking year-on-year losses of more than 5%.
The dollar was quite blended on all that. Its DXY index. was a touch higher as the euro pulled away following. some soft euro zone lending data and expectations that the. European Reserve bank will now cut for the 2nd time next. month before the Fed even gets going.
Dollar/yen was a touch firmer despite relatively. hawkish Bank of Japan remarks. BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino. reiterated the central bank's objective to continue lifting. rates of interest if inflation stayed on course, while carefully. keeping an eye on monetary market conditions.
In politics, the most recent national opinion surveys continue to. program Vice President Kamala Harris partially ahead of opposition. Donald Trump and she stays favorite to win at bookies -. with the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealing her also ahead on her. economic policy stance.
Harris and running mate Tim Walz are anticipated to interview. with CNN TV on Thursday.
Trump, meantime, dealt with a revised federal indictment on. Tuesday implicating him of unlawfully attempting to reverse his 2020. election loss, with prosecutors narrowing their technique after a. U.S. Supreme Court judgment that former presidents have broad. immunity from prosecution.
In Europe, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer cautioned on. Tuesday of a 'agonizing' budget plan ahead and took a trip to Berlin on. Wednesday to satisfy German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Sterling has been buoyed since before Labour's recent. election win in part on expectations the brand-new federal government will. ease relations with former European Union partners and look for to. soften a few of the economically-damaging post-Brexit agreement.
Key advancements that should provide more instructions to U.S. markets in the future Wednesday:. * Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller in India and. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks. * US corporate profits: Nvidia, Salesforce, CrowdStrike, HP,. NetApp, JM Smucker, Cooper Companies, Bath & & Body Works. * United States Treasury offers $70 billion of 5-year notes, offers two-year. FRNs
(source: Reuters)